LMF+Analysis+-+Schnaider

//Learning Motivation and Fun//


What are your 5 generalizations?
**1) Students in the age group 30-39 almost always selected a fun learning experience that involved physical activity.** The physical activity could be as strenuous as learning to ski, as reported by Barbara, or manipulating play dough as Karen described in how she learned to make a scale model of the earth and moon. Out of the 29 experiences for this age group, 27 (93%) involved physical activity. The physical activity typically gave the students an opportunity to practice what was learned during the instruction, or as in Karen’s case to discover the information as she created it. One of the two that did not employ physical activity was told by Sun-ah in which her science instructor took the class to a museum and showed how different colored light can be combined to make other colors. Although the students were not doing the physical activity, they were highly engaged and directing the instructor in selecting the lights. **2) Humor was present in most of the fun learning experiences as reported in the 30-39 age group, however was not necessarily a key element.** 72% of the fun experiences indicated there was either a little or a lot of humor, however very few mentioned humor in their video descriptions. One of the few students who did mention humor as a key element was Jason – he visited the National Historical Hall and the first tour guide he encountered used jokes to teach history. The next day he returned and had another tour guide who did not employ humor and the other tour participants were not as engaged. This was one instance where humor was a key element in engaging the students, however most of the experiences did not mention it. **3) A fun** **learning event can happen in a group of any size.** Group size was not a determining factor to make a learning experience fun as indicated by the data found in the 30-39 age group. Of the five identified group sizes (0, 2-5, 6-14, 15-35, and 36+), several instances of a fun learning event were had in each, indicating that learning can happen in a group of any size. The most selected group size was 15-35 (45%), however this is due to the fact that many fun learning events take place in a classroom, of which 15-35 is the standard size. **4) A skilled instructor can more effectively lead students through the content than self direction.** Of the 26 students in the 30-39 age group, 17 (65%) indicated that the instructor was in control of the lesson. The instructor as the content expert has the knowledge of what content is important to transfer to the student. As described by Gale regarding her wine tasting experience, the instructor taught them easy to remember steps such as sniff, swirl, sniff to examine the full scent of the wine. In contrast, Mundo described his self-paced course in which he had 100% control over the lesson. In his video description, he mentions that he was able to pick and choose the content he felt was more beneficial to him. If Gale was in control of the content, she may have determined the scent of the wine would not influence the taste and skip that important section. When a student is not knowledgeable enough of the content and in control of the lesson, they may miss an important part. **5) Peer interaction is almost always a component of a fun learning event for students in the 30-39 age group.** Of the 29 who submitted data, 26 (89%) indicated there was some interaction (either a little or a lot) with peers. One element of interaction that proved to be highly engaging is competition. For example, Teresa reports that it played a key role while learning a game from Japanese students. The losing penalty of eating wasabi was a great motivating factor for her! Another, but very different example was given by James a he described learning to use the student database while serving as Assistant Principal. He would race the secretary to see who could find data quicker or in creating attractive reports. This competition motivated him to constantly learn more about the database.  1)  **Incorporate physical activity into lessons.** In teaching leadership, I can incorporate role playing, or in discussing how to motivate employees, we can use objects such as cash to complete exercises.  2)  **Incorporate humor, or at least create a light atmosphere**. I try and use real and personal examples which are often stranger than fiction in my classes. When I tell personal stories the atmosphere of the class is less formal and the students relax. Hopefully some day my joke telling skills will increase enough to be used in the classroom.  3)   **The learning event should utilize the appropriate group size, which could increase the amount of preparation needed.** Since fun learning can take place in any size group, when I am faced with a large class size, I need to spend more time in planning and preparation to ensure it will still be as engaging as if in a smaller class.  4)  **Lead the students through the important content.** As an instructor, I am passionate about what I teach and would love to impart all my knowledge to thirsty students. However, most students only want or need certain information and do not have the time or patience for “trivia” as they see it. As the content expert, I need to give them what they want to learn //and// what is important for them to learn. This may also require teaching them why it is important to learn certain things.  5)   **Incorporate peer interaction in lessons.** Peer evaluation of in-class assignments works well with my students, since as engineers it is something they do in their jobs (or at least they should be reviewing their peer’s bridge designs!). In public speaking classes, students can evaluate other’s speeches based on the principles they learned in class.
 * __ What makes learning fun and engaging? __**
 * __ What are the implications for your own teaching and design work? __**